That’s right!

This dagger did indeed belong to Ling Jingshu.

At the time when the bandits had forced her to walk with them, she had pressed this very dagger against her own throat. But… why was this dagger now embedded in the bandit’s chest?

Ling Ji’s mind was in utter chaos. He stared at the blood-stained dagger as though he had seen a ghost.

Wang Tong watched Ling Ji standing there slack-jawed and dumbfounded, and tugged the corner of his lips into a slight smile. “You heard correctly, and you have not thought wrong. This bandit leader was killed at the hands of that kind-hearted and delicate Miss Ling the Ninth, who cannot bear the sight of blood. The situation was critical just now — the bandit leader who had been holding her hostage was already wounded, and if he had managed to seize her again, he would likely have dragged her down with him in his dying moments. Miss Ling the Ninth was quite decisive — she struck first and killed him before he could act.”

He paused, then added, “This sort of matter is not suitable for spreading around. If it were, it would damage Miss Ling the Ninth’s reputation as a well-bred young lady. As for the Eastern Palace guards, I will personally give the order for them to keep this secret. As for the guards from your household and the boatmen on the ship, that will require Young Master to step forward and handle it himself.”

As he spoke, he pressed the dagger into Ling Ji’s hand.

Ling Ji lowered his head and looked at the dagger, feeling as though it weighed a thousand catties in his hand. His heart felt heavier still.

If not to preserve everyone’s lives, Ling Jingshu would never have stepped forward so resolutely. Knowing full well the dangers that lay ahead, she had still willingly followed the bandits away.

If something truly happened to Ling Jingshu — if she came to any real harm — how could the main branch of the Ling Family ever show their faces again at the Ling ancestral home? What face would they have to meet the members of the Fifth Branch?

Ling Jingshu had been driven to a corner and left with no choice but to kill. And yet such a frail and delicate woman had been so sharp-minded and decisive — it was genuinely admirable. It made him, a grown man of seven feet, feel deeply ashamed of himself.

This matter must never be allowed to spread!

Once it did, not only would the Ling Family’s reputation suffer, but Ling Jingshu would become an oddity in the eyes of others…

Ling Ji swiftly made up his mind. He drew a deep breath and replied, “Thank you for the reminder, Commander Wang. I know what needs to be done.”

“Father. Elder Brother and A’Xiao have both gone up to the deck, and there are no more sounds of fighting outside. Does that mean we are safe now?” Ling Jing’yan, who had been crying in fright and terror for half the night, spoke in a hoarse and trembling voice, managing to squeeze out just a few words.

Ling Daye tilted his head to listen for a moment, then said with some uncertainty, “There does not seem to be any further strange sounds from outside. Those bandits should all have been subdued.”

Sun Shi’s voice was also somewhat hoarse. “Someone come — light the candelabra first.”

The maids who had been so frightened they had collapsed onto the floor finally came back to their senses. They struggled to their feet and fumbled around to light the candelabra.

Light finally filled the ship’s cabin.

Jiang Shi’s expression suddenly changed, and she said with a trembling voice, “There are footsteps outside.”

Everyone’s faces shifted in alarm.

The footsteps were not particularly heavy, and they reached the door quickly. The door creaked open with a push.

Ling Jing’yan had already squeezed her eyes shut and begun screaming. Ling Daye and Sun Shi’s faces went white as a sheet.

“There’s nothing to fear. It’s me and A’Xiao.” The figures who appeared in the doorway were indeed the sister and brother — Ling Jingshu and Ling Xiao. There was a faint weariness in Ling Jingshu’s voice.

Everyone finally let out a long, collective breath of relief.

Ling Jing’yan, who had been shrieking ceaselessly just a moment before, immediately fell silent. Somehow finding the strength, she leapt to her feet and rushed over, throwing her arms around Ling Jingshu and bursting into tears. “Cousin Shu, thank heavens you came back safe and sound. When you followed those bandits away just now, I was so frightened, and I didn’t dare call out for you to stay… I’m sorry…”

Ling Daye and Sun Shi both felt a pang of guilt in their hearts. They exchanged a glance and silently turned their faces away in opposite directions.

Just now, they had watched with their own eyes as Ling Jingshu followed the bandits away. Not a single person had dared to make a sound. Looking back on it now, it truly had been far too cowardly and faint-hearted…

“Cousin Yan, you need not blame yourself.”

Ling Jingshu’s gentle and calm voice reached everyone’s ears. “Given the circumstances at the time, it was already a great fortune to have managed to preserve everyone’s lives. Besides, those people came for me specifically. If I had not gone with them willingly, they would never have let me go regardless.”

“Uncle and Aunt not saying a word — they must have been thinking to preserve their strength, biding their time in secret to find a way to rescue me. This painstaking care of theirs — how could I not understand it?”

Ling Daye and Sun Shi felt their faces grow warm, knowing full well that Ling Jingshu was tactfully making excuses on their behalf, out of consideration for them…

What a reasonable and perceptive girl she truly was!

Ling Daye cleared his throat and said, “A’Shu, you have endured much this night. You must have had quite a fright. Come inside and let us talk.”

“Yes, A’Shu, come inside.” Sun Shi also changed her manner of address, her tone suddenly much more warm and affectionate.

There was a trace of bitterness in Ling Jingshu’s voice. “My clothes are splattered with a good deal of fresh blood, I am afraid it may startle you. Let me go back and change into clean clothes first, and then I will come and speak with you.”

Only at that moment did Ling Jing’yan catch the scent of blood coming from Ling Jingshu.

Under ordinary circumstances, Ling Jing’yan would certainly have gone weak at the knees from fright.

But after everything they had endured this night — now that everyone was safe and unharmed — it was already a mercy granted by heaven. Who still had the mind to dwell on such small details?

Ling Jing’yan grabbed Ling Jingshu’s arm and pulled her inside, saying, “What does a little blood matter? So long as everyone is safe, that’s all that counts.”

Easy enough to say — but when they came into the lamplight and Ling Jing’yan saw the mottled bloodstains spattered across Ling Jingshu’s dress, she still could not help but be startled, blurting out, “A’Shu, where did all that blood on you come from?”

It looked almost exactly like the blood that would have splattered onto someone who had killed at close range…

Ling Jing’yan was shaken by the fleeting thought that flashed through her mind. She quickly pushed the frightening notion aside and, in her own self-satisfied way, found what she believed to be a reasonable explanation: “I understand now. It must be that the person who came to the rescue killed the bandit who was holding you hostage, and you were standing too close — the blood splattered onto you.”

Ling Jingshu remained silent, allowing Ling Jing’yan and the others to go on misunderstanding.

Yes — who would ever think that she had personally killed that bandit with her own hands?

Even she herself had not imagined that she would have the courage to do so.

In that moment of extreme danger, her body had reacted even faster than her mind.

The act of killing was not a pleasant feeling — it was even somewhat nauseating. And yet, she did not regret it. If it were to happen again, she would make the same choice.

The one thing that truly left her anxious and unsettled was the fact that there had been far too many people present. There was simply no way to keep this matter concealed. The Ling family would soon learn the truth… and they would likely come to see her as an oddity.

If it were to spread further in the days to come, it would be very difficult for her to establish herself in the capital.

That was Ling Jingshu’s true and deepest worry.

Jiang Shi opened her mouth to ask, “A’Shu, who exactly was it that saved us today?”

The image of the handsome, cold-faced young man in black robes flashed through Ling Jingshu’s mind. “It was the Crown Grandson, leading the Eastern Palace guards, who came to the rescue.”

The Crown Grandson?

Jiang Shi was startled for a moment, then quickly let out a breath of relief. “So it was His Highness the Crown Grandson.”

By blood relation, she and the Crown Grandson were cousins within five degrees of kinship. But given the difference in their standings, she naturally would not casually address him as “Cousin.”

Ling Daye’s spirits lifted at once, and he said immediately, “Each of you return to your rooms, wash up, and change your clothes. When dawn comes, I will lead you all to offer our thanks.”